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By Laura Drinan
Hometown Weekly Reporter
A for apple, B for ball, C for cat… isn’t that how most alphabet books go?
Not anymore, thanks to children’s author Jerry Pallotta, who has written over 75 books, many of which are alphabet books. Pallotta is the author of refreshing and intricate alphabet books like “The Icky Bug Alphabet Book,” “The Construction Alphabet Book,” and “The Dinosaur Alphabet Book.”
Facing a projected shark attack, children at Needham’s Hillside Elementary join children’s author Jerry Pallotta on stage as he presents his career as an author.
Having had such an impact on children’s early literacy development nationwide, Pallotta, who raised his four children in Needham, came to Hillside Elementary to deliver a humorous and informative presentation on his life and career as an author.
“My wife made me read to the kids. She kept saying: read to the kids, read to the kids, read to the kids,” said Pallotta. “I don’t give any advice, parents, except to read to your kids. In my case, I got a career out of it. If there was a blizzard, she would say ‘Shovel the snow later, read to the kids.’ If the house was on fire, she would say ‘Put the fire out later, read to the kids.’ So I’m a dad who read to my kids. That’s what made me think of writing books.”
That career began at the age of 32, when Pallotta decided to write his own children’s book. Inspired by his childhood memories of spending time at the beach in Scituate, Pallotta wrote “The Ocean Alphabet Book.”
Jerry Pallotta, a local children’s author, shared the silly face of an upside down moth found in one of his alphabet books.
Since his first alphabet book, Pallotta has become the author of many “Who Will Win?” books, which sets up scenarios to test animals’ strength and smarts to rule as an apex predator. Pallotta showed the elementary school children a presentation of his upcoming book, “Who Will Win? Ultimate Jungle Rumble,” that kept the kids guessing which animal would become king of the jungle.
“I do a lot of research in my books and I try to make it fun to read. I try to fill them with facts so kids can learn and I try to write them so it would help the teachers in the classroom,” said Pallotta.
With the roars of laughter and excitement from the children in the audience, there’s no doubt that Jerry Pallotta makes reading a positive and enjoyable experience for all.
